By Burl Burlingame
Star-Bulletin
THAT necktie DaddyGuy found under the tree probably won't get worn as much as he dares to. The pot 'o' perfume JuniorBoy got for Mom will probably go unsniffed. HoneyGirl's new portable stereo is getting plenty of use, though -- so much so that the neighbors are calling the cops. And that fruitcake for Auntie Tutu will sit in the garage for a year before it's given to someone else for safekeeping. The joy of the holiday season is in giving. But it's also good to be useful as well as decorative. For Home Zone today, we looked for items for the house that make life a little easier, more fun or more interesting. Ho-ho-Home Zone!
By Dennis Oda, Star-Bulletin
Shirokiya has Year-of-the-Tiger-theme items,
here and at top, to mark 1998.
Keep in mind that due to almost daily sales, prices shown here might vary.Eagle Hardware & Garden, almost by definition, has plenty of cool stuff for the home, at least the kind of home where there's a tool belt or two in use. One useful gadget is the TrayMate adjustable convenience tray ($5.99), a spartan plastic number with legs that allow it to be clamped to the edge of a chair or couch. Just the place to leave that holiday cup of nog.
The Brinkman Gourmet Electric Smoker and Grill ($84.99) looks like a giant red cold-relief capsule, but it's just the thing for smoking up some kal bi. If you're messy after chowing on kal bi, install a whirlpool tub. There are several models ranging from $1200 to $2800, and that's without soap.
By Craig T. Kojima, Star-Bulletin
Thuya bonsai from Eagle Hardware & Garden $39.
A pleasant present is live bonsai, of which Eagle has many little trees ($19 to $99). For those into bigger plants, there's the Grasshopper ($24.99), a kind of rolling green-plastic stool with a compartment for garden tools. This popular product is also available at other hardware stores such as City Mill. In a similar vein, the Jobmaster Step N Store toolbox ($29.95) combines seating and storage, but in Empire Strikes Back colors of black and grey.Fools for tools might find the PlasPlugs drill-bit and knife sharpener ($45.97) useful for prolonging tool life. Black and Decker's VersaPak rechargeable battery system provides lots of juice for cordless tools, and there's a three-tool set of 7.2 volt Cordless Saw, 7.2 volt Cordless Drill and 3.6 volt Snakelight, plus two Versapak batteries, for $109.97. It all comes in a knockabout case.
Almost scary-looking in their sleek, chrome-and-white-porcelain '50s gleam are a matched Maytag washer and dryer at Circuit City. Both, however, are thoroughly modern appliances. The Horizontal Access Washer ($1044.99) uses sideloading to reduce water and heat consumption, while the Neptune Dryer ($541.49) has built-in humidistats that monitor the load's dryness. Both are so popular this year that they're back-ordered.
By Dennis Oda, Star-Bulletin
Tiger tea pot, $36.60 from Iida.
In the kitchen, the Whirlpool KitchenAid 22-cubic-foot refrigerator ($1699.99) is a control freak's daydream of adjustable shelves, sliding freezer baskets and separate temperature controls. Another nice feature: the shelves are sealed to hold up to 11 ounces of spilled liquid.They're called kitchen televisions, small 9-inch sets with brackets to hang them under wall cabinets, but they can be put up almost anywhere except the shower. Circuit City carries four models: RCA and Magnavox for $249.99, Panasonic for $269.99 and Sony for $279.97, and all sported good, sharp color pictures and remote controls. Getting the extra cable installation is up to you.
Laserline's CD tower, left, at Tower Records, $8.99.
By Dennis Oda, Star-BulletinWhile watching TV, you can do some deep frying with the T-FAL Super Delux Electric Fryer ($115) at Executive Chef. Or there's a press-and-cook pocket sandwich maker by Vitantonio ($59.95) with a twist -- it creates the faces of Mickey and Minnie Mouse in the bread. Which ear do you eat first? Do you put cheese in one ear and ham in the other?
If you put bananas in the kids' stockings -- and who doesn't? -- Banana Bill's Banana Slicer ($4.95) will create neat, even rounds. Or there's the job of transferring spices to Hanging Spice jars ($51.95) that have a hook built into the head. The eight jars either come on a rail or on a lazy susan. More prosaic, but useful, are Magic Sliders ($10.95 and $11.95) teflon pads that fit under heavy appliances and furniture that make it easier to move them around.
In Bath & Butler, in the same store space as Executive Chef, among all the standard scales, we spotted the Soehnle Digital Gooseneck Scale, which looks like it belongs in Darth Vader's bathroom. It's only $425, and for that kind of money, it should also scream in pain when you step on it.
At Phone Mart, we spotted an ideal gift for someone who doesn't know if you're kidding or not. The "new" Lucent Technologies Model #100 phone ($24.95) is a pinkish, squarish, institutional no-frills phone that looks like every phone you've ever seen in a government office. It's not pretty, but it'll last a hundred years.
By Dennis Oda, Star-Bulletin
Star Wars lightsabre universal remote at
Brookstone, Ward Center for $40.00.
At Computer City, a useful add-on to your laptop or PalmPilot computer are Global Positioning System receivers and CD-ROM software that translates the signal into data.The TravRoute Co-Pilot ($359.99), for example, will translate this satellite data into out-loud talking directions to guide you while you're driving to a particular destination.
The DeLorme TripMate ($159.99) is similar without as many bells and whistles.
Brookstone, the gadget store for Sharper Image graduates, has a bunch of neat items, including a four-in-one Security Travel Mate ($25) that has a motion detector, spotlight, panic alarm and digital alarm clock in one small unit; a six-in-one Wonder Tool ($30) that's a pairs of pliers with appendages; a Find Easy smart keyring tracker that chirps when you clap ($20); and a couple of finger-protector bagel slicers ($30 and $12).
By Dennis Oda, Star-Bulletin
Bath & Butler's gooseneck scale, $425.
The European Tempur-Pedic temperature-sensitive pillows ($95 to $150) are made of a material that molds itself to your body contour. Under the pillow, place the Tranquil Moments natural-noise maker ($80) which features sound loops of rain or surf or wind in the trees. And while lying there, use the Star Wars Universal Remote Light Sabre ($40) to change the channel.Liberty House is one big sale-a-thon these days, but we liked Da Shave Ice Machine ($25, but usually at 50 percent off), which is a simple shave-ice maker. Comes with molds for casting ice cakes in the proper shape.
Shirokiya is another store with lots of stuff -- we liked the Pur Plus Water Filter ($39.99), an egg-shaped item endorsed by no less than Dr. Sylvia Earle -- but since 1998 is the Year of the Tiger, check out the various tiger-themed sculpture knickknacks and tapestry calendars, with prices ranging from a few dollars to $139.95 for a brass sculpture.
Tiger stuff is also available at Iida, including a tiger toothpick holder for $3.75 and a tiger calendar for $6.80.
By Craig T. Kojima, Star-Bulletin
Under-shelf TV with remote from Circuit City.
At Williams-Sonoma, there's a brick-like "Baking Stone" ($14.50 or $28 depending on shape) that you place in the oven to bake pizza or bread, providing a "brick oven environment in any standard oven."The kids are getting compact disks and tapes, so things to keep them in aren't inappropriate. Tower Records has a variety of CD holders which can also be used to hold CD-ROMS for computers. The plastic Laserline CD-60 Tower is $8.99, as is Laserline's AC60 cassette case. The Napa Valley 58-CD Tower is $27.99, but we're talking wood and faux wine labels.
How about just nice things to look at? Island Treasures has black-sand Ki'i Pohaku sculptures ($85) and Hawaiian quilt pillow covers ($25 to $30).
Following Sea has Harmony Lanterns ($80) that use heat from the bulb to drive a magic-lantern stencil. There are trickly self-contained tiny fountains and frog ponds ($200 to $225), a carved koa wind stand ($25) that balances a bottle in its mouth, rice-paper sculpture lamps (a white star is $175, a purple cat is $275, a blue moon is $237), and a nifty Mayan folding chair ($155) made of cherry wood.
Best of all, Following Sea has smooth river stones with good-luck Chinese calligraphies sand-blasted in them for $30. So, if you're really good, maybe Santa will place a rock in your stocking.
